What are PQAs?

The difference between competencies, PQAs and the Leadership Behaviours

If you are unsure about any aspect of your promotion or selection, this is where you need to start. The Leadership Behaviours are absolutely crucial to your FRS career success, and below we explain why.

Organisations outside of the FRS may refer to ‘competencies’. Some Fire & Rescue Services have their own behaviour, value or competency frameworks, but they are all fairly similar.

The Leadership Behaviours are listed in the Leadership Framework which has been created by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC).

You may have heard of the Leadership Behaviours. PQA stands for Personal Qualities & Attributes. These are the old competencies used by the FRS. The Leadership Framework replaced these.

What is the Leadership Framework ?

Behavioural (and values) frameworks describe the underlying personal skills, principles, ethics and qualities that form the basis of your behaviour – in and out of work. These qualities influence everything about the way you work from how you interact with others to your approach to hard work and high standards.

The idea behind these ‘wish lists’ of behaviours is that if these can be assessed during a selection or promotion process, it will provide insights into how well you will perform in the role you are applying for.

If you don’t match the behaviours that the organisation has decided are important then you will be evaluated to be a poor fit for the role. If your attitudes and behaviours do match closely with the criteria the FRS has set, then it can be predicted that you will be a valuable addition to the team.

Importance of Leadership Behaviours

The Fire & Rescue Service looks at how you demonstrate your Leadership Behaviours to get an insight into:

what sort of person you are,
how you tend to behave,
what attitudes you hold
and therefore what sort of Firefighter you have the potential to be.

If you don’t know how to show your Leadership Behaviours in the best light you will find it very difficult to pass the initial stages of the recruitment process. This will leave you back at square one in terms of starting your career as a Firefighter, so it is essential that you get your head around what these are what they look like and why they are important.

Role criteria – personal skills

The Leadership Behaviours are the fundamental personal and leadership skills which Firefighters need to perform successfully in their roles. For instance:

A Firefighter needs to consider the needs of others and prioritise nclusion
They need to evaluate risks and generate solutions which will positively impact service delivery;
They can be trusted to care equally for the welfare and security of their teams and members of the public because of their integrity, ethics and awareness of well-being;
They support the positive reputation and continuous improvement of the FRS through their understanding of how they contribute to organisational effectiveness

The Fire & Rescue Service has a list of Leadership Behaviours which it is looking for. It shows certain skills and qualities that all Fire Fighters need to have.

What do managers need to do?

The definition for the Leadership Behaviours is slightly different for the different levels within the organisation. The Leadership Behaviours for Firefighter, Leading others (Crew & Watch Managers), Leading the Function (Station & Group Managers) and Leading the Service (Area managers and above) will all vary slightly, depending on the level of responsibility and expectations for successful performance. A Supervisory manager (Crew or Watch Manager) wouldn’t be expected to have the same approach to learning and development for instance as a Strategic (Group or Area Manager). However, there are also a lot of similarities across all levels. For instance, you need to be able to communicate in a clear, concise and accessible manner whether you are a Firefighter or the Chief!

Why are Leadership Behaviours important?

Being able to show off your Leadership Behaviours is essential if you want to join the Fire & Rescue Service or if you want to get promoted to the next level of management. Your performance against the Leadership Behaviours is checked every step of the way.

This is why we provide resources to help you work on your Leadership Behaviours and give you personalised feedback on your Leadership Behaviours so you have time to work on your weak areas before they are assessed for real.

If you don’t match the competencies/ Leadership Behaviours that the organisation has decided are important then you will be evaluated to be a poor fit for the role. If your attitudes and behaviours do match closely with the criteria the FRS has set, then it can be predicted that you will be a valuable addition to the team.

No matter what other Firefighter skills you have, your Leadership Behaviours will be important. You might be sure that you have the right skills, but you need to be able to show that you have them to the people who will be assessing you.

So what are the different Leadership Behaviours?

Personal Impact

Personal Impact ensures we value, respect and promote equality and diversity. It s being a positive presence on others, encouraging contribution and emphasising wellbeing.

Outstanding Leadership

is about building high performing teams and developing people to their full potential. It s communicating with integrity, being open and honest to build trust and collaborative working partnerships.

Service Delivery

is about delivering high quality services now and in to the future. It s intelligent problem solving with an outcome focussed approach, continuous improvement and delivering value for money to our customers

Organisational Effectiveness

is ensuring everything we do is linked to organisational plans and values. It s championing innovation, being open and proactive towards change and learning and evolving to meet future needs

Get help with your Leadership Behaviours

Whichever stage of assessment you are at, whether initial recruitment or promotion your Leadership Behaviours (or competencies if your organisation calls them something different) will be tested.

You need to be able to prove that you have the skills and qualities for the job. Showing proof isn’t always easy, especially if you’re not sure how to go about it.

At FRS Development, we can help because:

We know what the Fire Service is looking for
We can provide exercises and workbooks which give you the chance to get your PQAs right before your real interview or assessment
We can help you with the areas you find hardest. This is personalised help that you won’t find anywhere else.